


Life Debt

by inquisitor_tohru



Series: Original Works [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Folklore, Kissing, Life Debt, M/M, Obligatory Merman In A Bathtub, Original Characters & Original Works Flash Exchange May 2020, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24460564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru
Summary: "I suppose this means we're even now."
Relationships: Lighthouse Keeper/Merman Whose Life He Saved, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Original Works [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778560
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: Original Characters & Original Works Flash Exchange May 2020





	Life Debt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Plaid_Slytherin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/gifts).



The first thing that crossed Arion's mind when he came to was that he was more or less dry. The second was panic, with the realisation that he was not on the beach but in an enclosed space, squashed into some kind of container (that certainly hadn't been built to accommodate tails and fins), with what may as well have been a mere dribble of water. At least it was salt water - unlike some of his brethren he could tolerate fresh water to a degree, but it wreaked havoc on his scales.

He tensed at the strange shuffling coming from the other side of the wall - like a crab scuttling over rocks but... _wrong_. There was nowhere for Arion to retreat. Even if he could have heaved himself up and out onto the wooden floor, he moved clumsily on land at the best of times. Instead, he settled for shifting his weight so that he could submerge as much of his lower body in the salt water as possible. He closed his eyes briefly, basking in the much needed relief from the dry air, and when he opened them, he saw the healthy, oily sheen already returning to his scales. _Good,_ he thought, releasing a haughty breath through his gills. It would not do for his captor to see him as sickly and weak.

Part of the wall creaked and gave way, revealing a curiously neatly-shaped entrance that Arion now recognised as a "doorway". His own people had never bothered with screens or doors, as the water warped the wood. And without a door, one could hardly have a _door_ way.

"You!" The word tumbled from his lips, low and guttural. Arion could be called fluent in a few of the human languages as far as listening and deciphering their symbols, but speaking them out loud always made him feel like a fool with a tongue that was too big for his mouth, lips struggling to form the right shapes. He consoled himself by imagining his gracious host trying to speak _his_ language. His gills flared in disgust as Thomas stepped closer, carrying a platter of dead fish, and smirked.

"I had forgotten you killed them first." Thomas scratched the scruff on his chin.

"Funny, seeing as how I found you caught in a fishing net." _Ah._ So that was what happened. "I suppose this means we're even now." While Arion was not particularly adept at reading the emotions of humans, he thought he detected a whiff of wistfulness. Perhaps even a hint of sorrow that his debt had been repaid.

Humans made no sense.

* * *

The first time Thomas saw Arion, he'd coughed up what, irrationally, had felt like _several_ lungfuls of sea water and bemoaning the fact that he was probably the only lighthouse keeper (well, _assistant_ lighthouse keeper) who had managed to be kidnapped by sodding _pirates_ , before his gaze settled on his rescuer. Where there ought to have been hair upon his head there were startling twists of coral, blood-red, adorned with seashells and tiny fishbones. His cheekbones were uncommonly high, and there was something unnatural about the brightness in his eyes. He was achingly, painfully beautiful, and Thomas couldn't take his eyes off him.

"I-" Another mouthful of water drowned whatever he'd been about to say, which was probably good, because it was probably something _stupid._ Then his eyes trailed downwards, over his saviour's bare chest, past his stomach, and saw the scales and fins, like a fish's, glistening like the rainbow that followed the storm. He'd heard the sailors' talk of kelpies and selkies and merfolk haunting these shores, but this was his first time seeing one in the flesh. The stories varied, but there was one constant: merfolk did nothing for _free_ . Still, he could have been picked up by a kelpie, so he considered himself lucky, eager to know what price this handsome merman would demand. At the same time he despaired to think that _this_ was how bored and lonely he'd become, locked away in the lighthouse with his dour brother, William.

"I owe you my life," he said at last, voice hoarse, his tongue feeling like an unfamiliar weight in his mouth. "What is your name?" The merman grinned like a shark, all points and sharp edges, then pressed his salty-sweet lips to Thomas' in a kiss that could almost have been described as gentle and chaste, had it not been for the scrape of teeth against his lower lip.

"You owe me your life," he repeated, "and you may call me Arion."

* * *

"You sound disappointed," Arion said, accepting one of the limp fish carcasses from the platter. Thomas moved awkwardly across the room, his leg having never quite healed from the injuries he'd endured before Arion's rescue, but in comparison to Arion's flapping and flailing when he was out of the water, Thomas was the very picture of elegance.

Arion had always found legs fascinating, whether they belonged to crabs, donkeys, or any number of other creatures he glimpsed as he draped himself over the rocks, his tail swishing beneath the water. But human legs were his favourite, and the way the drenched fabric had clung to Thomas' the day Arion saved him from pirates had been _especially_ interesting to him, though he found it difficult to articulate why that was.

"I suppose I am," Thomas said softly. He winced as he kneeled down so that their faces were barely an inch apart. Arion had the smooth skin of a swimmer, but Thomas was blessed with delicate lines and creases, each of which was committed to Arion's memory. He released the breath from his gills when Thomas closed the space between them, and their lips touched. "I repaid my debt, but the thing is...I've grown rather fond of your company. I'll _miss_ you." Arion reached around him for another fish, then gestured towards himself.

"I don't think I'm likely to be going anywhere fast." Thomas laughed sadly, shaking his head. "I will return to the sea, but that has always been the way. Why does it trouble you now?"

"I- wait, hang on...are you saying things _won't_ change?"

"Why would they? And anyway," he added, baring all his teeth, "you're going to need someone to save you the next time you decide to have a little _adventure."_


End file.
